Stop the World
by desolate butterfly
Summary: [NaruSaku] Being with Naruto is like standing still. That's why Sakura does it.


Title: Stop the World  
Author: desbutterfly  
Genre: romance, drama  
Pairing: NaruSaku, hints of NaruSakuSasu  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Moving on with Naruto is like standing still. That's why Sakura does it.

--

When he came up behind her and slung his arms loosely around her waist, she just leaned back, as if she had expected him to be there all along.

Which, in a way, she had.

"Still thinking about it?" he asked, hooking his chin over her shoulder and looking impishly up at her, just a hint of a grin quirking the corners of his lips.

She lifted one hand and slid it briefly through the unruly spikes of his hair, twisting a blond strand around her index finger.

"Yeah."

"Anything I can do to help the process along?"

He nuzzled into her neck and she rolled her eyes fondly when she felt a teasing tongue lick a wet strip across her skin. Naruto never hesitated to touch her when she gave signs that she would allow him to do so. These days it was hard to walk anywhere without his hand palming her shoulders or clasping her fingers with the same amount of childish joy. She found it rather comforting; to have him attached so much that there was no way he could leave her behind.

At least when he had an arm around her neck, she always knew where he was.

"It's just weird," she confessed, tilting her head to allow him better access. "Like it's such a grown-up thing to do. Saying 'forever' like that…"

"It's what everyone's expecting, though," he said. "Ever since that day when—"

"When you told everyone we were having sex?"

She could feel the pout of his lips against her skin and smiled.

"That's not fair, Sakura-chan! I didn't tell anybody. That was Kiba," he whined.

She turned and bopped him softly on the nose. He faked a wince.

"You didn't exactly say anything to contradict him, as I remember. Anyway," she said, before Naruto could comment on how it wouldn't have mattered anyway, since Kiba would have known they were lying, "it just seems strange to think about the future."

"We don't _have_ to do it," Naruto said, suddenly serious. "We can wait for…"

"Wait for what?" she said, quietly and he fell silent.

The truth was, they had already been waiting. Waiting for Sasuke, waiting for him to come back, waiting for Itachi to die, waiting for things to get back to the way they were before. Sakura wasn't sure how long she could keep waiting. Sometimes it seemed like the entire world was going on without them and that they had just stopped, watching Sasuke pass them by. It didn't seem right.

But then, it didn't seem right to start again either. More than that, it didn't seem possible. They would always be waiting for Sasuke.

'_But at least we can wait together now…'_

She smiled and slid her hands up Naruto's chest, catching them in the folds of his jacket. A bit confused, he covered her hands with his own. She bent and pressed a kiss to his knuckle, grinning mischievously.

"Okay," she said. "I'm not thinking about it anymore."

"Oh?" he said, eyebrows rising as her leg hooked around his, pulling them closer together. "Does that mean you've decided?"

She felt his hands move down to support her back and hips and strained up to kiss him, cursing his height and glad for the heels on her boots. His lips were warm like always.

"Yep," she said, giving his chin a soft nip, which he soon returned.

When he eagerly tried to maneuver them into a more stable position, he almost stepped on her foot and she kicked at him with a muffled laugh. Things weren't changing too fast, she thought. He was still the same.

"Do I get to know what you've decided?"

"Can't you tell?" she asked, placing her hand in his.

He stared at her fingers a few seconds, bewildered. Then his face brightened and he fumbled in his pocket for a few seconds before coming up with a simple gold band. This he slid tremblingly onto Sakura's finger, his grin so wide he almost couldn't manage to kiss her properly through it.

"It'll be okay, you'll see," he whispered against her lips, holding her close. "We'll be fine."

"I know," she said, closing her eyes. Forever was just a word anyway. They would be together for now, and now was good enough. No one could say they weren't trying.

No one could accuse them of not moving forward.

--

fin.

--


End file.
